Prime Minister Andy Burnham has described plans to give millions of households across the UK £100 energy relief as "quite a significant, significant step". The government announced the support in the Autumn Budget.
Chancellor announces £100 energy payment
Chancellor John Healey said the measures would give people "breathing space" amid skyrocketing energy prices. Mr Burnham was probed about his Budget announcements in a new interview with ITV, which is part of a documentary to mark 100 days since the PM assumed office.
Speaking in the House of Commons earlier this week, Mr Healey said: "I know rising energy bills are a real worry and people look to government to give them a bit of breathing space. So this winter for 20 million households in council tax bands A to D, I am announcing a £100 energy payment for households."
PM defends Budget decisions
The Aintree-born politician played down suggestions the measures introduced as part of the Budget were radical. He said: "We took a decision on the Budget early on. The Chancellor came to me and said given everything, given the way the world is, and things changing by the, not even week, by the day, he felt it was right to go early and to close down some of the speculation we’ve seen in the past, because that’s added to the difficulties with budgets."
He added: "And as we were going through, the numbers were changing a lot because of what was going on in the world. So, to come to your question, the room for manoeuvre wasn’t what I would have hoped it to be. I guess then the question is, you know, radical within what we were able to do. It was quite a big call to ask the banks to repay the help they had off people 20 or so years ago."
Eligibility and payment details
The 56-year-old did describe the £100 energy bill support as one of the significant measures he has introduced as part of the Autumn Budget. He said it was "quite a significant, significant step".
The Household Energy Payment will provide a £100 payment to households in Council Tax bands A to D in England, to help with their energy costs. Up to 20 million households will be eligible, including an estimated 83% of fuel stressed households in England, and 88% of households in the bottom three income categories.
The £100 payments will be made from January 2027. Households in England are eligible for the Household Energy Payment if they are liable for council tax on, and live in, a property in council tax bands A to D as their main home. This will include most households exempt from council tax, with full eligibility criteria to be published in due course. Second homes, empty properties or households where the householder isn’t responsible for paying council tax are not eligible.
Mr Healey added: "That’s a £2.6bn scheme to take the pressure off in the coldest months and see people through to the spring. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments will receive their share of the funding, but I call on them to do the same and give people in all nations in the UK breathing space on their energy bills this winter."
